Generic lighting control consoles serve for controlling lighting systems such as those employed in theaters or on concert stages, for instance. Routinely, said lighting systems comprise a plurality of lighting devices, such as stage spotlights, wherein, in the lighting devices on their own, it is also possible to switch between a plurality of lighting states, for instance between different colors. These different lighting states are controlled in the lighting program of the lighting control console by way of programmed parameters. Here, standard lighting systems may comprise up to several thousand lighting devices. In order to be able to control such complex lighting systems, the generic lighting control consoles are equipped with a digital processor, which permits digital data and signal processing. For storing the data, a digital memory is further provided, which in particular allows for archiving of lighting programs.
For programming the lighting program or for controlling the lighting program while it is running, operators have to enter control commands as input values. Said control commands can, for instance, be the selection of a specific lighting device or the setting of a specific parameter, for instance of luminosity. For entering these control commands, mechanical control elements, for instance key buttons, rotary controls or slide controls, are available at known lighting control consoles. Here, the control commands being assigned to the individual control elements may be altered by way of suitable menu changeovers in order to be able to program and control correspondingly complex lighting programs.
The slide controls being installed at the known lighting control consoles are characterized in that entries are made by linearly adjusting a control knob. Here, the control knob is mechanically linked to a contact holder through a slit in the housing of the lighting control console, such that the linear adjustment of the control knob can directly be transmitted onto the contact holder, which is located inside of the housing. At least one sliding contact is in turn provided at the contact holder, which contact abuts upon a linear contact track. Depending on the relative position of the sliding contact on the linear contact track, different input values are the result.
Lighting control consoles are frequently employed in an environment that has to be kept dark, for instance in the auditorium of a theater or in a concert hall, where extraneous light for lighting the control panel at the lighting control console is undesired. In order to still allow users to safely access different control elements, control elements are known which, at the control knob, exhibit an illuminant that is electrically controlled, for instance a light bulb. This has the disadvantage that, for supplying the illuminant in the control knob with electricity, corresponding cabling from the interior of the housing of the lighting control console has to be laid to the control knob that is arranged outside of the housing. Considerable safety problems result therefrom since components outside of the housing are within the reaching area of the hands of the users and therefore have to be reliably protected against electric shocks. Besides, due to the illuminant in the control knob, the control knob may heat up, which is undesired.